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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



250 feet square which is lowered to the 

 bottom while each corner is connected 

 with a boat. Large catches, particularly 

 of fat summer herring, are made with 

 this apparatus. . 



The Norwegian herring fisheries vary 

 considerably from year to year, but show 

 no striking changes in the past decade. 

 Some seasons the fishermen have num- 

 bered less than 20,000 and others as many 

 as 50,000. The catch in 1905 was 

 291,293,000 pounds, for which the fisher- 

 men received $2,473,300. 



SWEDEN 



The herring resorts to all the coasts of 

 Sweden, but is most abundant on the 

 western seaboard, in the Skager Rak and 

 Kattegat, becoming less numerous in the 

 Baltic, and still less so in the Gulf of 

 Bothnia. The periodicity in abundance 

 to which the fish is liable in Scandinavian 

 waters has been particularly noteworthy 

 in Sweden, and has meant a great deal to 

 the coastwise districts of that country, 

 where fishing is the leading industry and 

 the herring the principal fish. 



In the archipelago forming a part of 

 the districts of Gdteborg and Bohus a 

 herring fishery of great importance 

 sprang up at a very early date. Prior to 

 the sixteenth century no records were 

 kept, but as both church and state de- 

 rived an income from herring tithes and 

 taxation, it has been possible to learn 

 that a fishery existed there as early as 

 the beginning of the eleventh century. It 

 has likewise been established that even at 

 that time, when fishing could not have 

 had any possible influence, there were 

 long series of years when the herring 

 were practically absent from the region, 

 and such times of scarcity have alternated 

 with years of abundance up to the pres- 

 ent day. The periods of abundance have 

 lasted from 20 to 80 years, and the 

 periods of scarcity from 60 to 70 years, 

 during the past four centuries. From 

 1747 to 1 80S the herring was present on 

 this coast, and the great prosperity en- 

 joyed by Goteborg in the latter part of 

 the eighteenth century was directly de- 

 pendent on the herring fishery ; but dur- 



ing the next 68 years the herring failed to 

 appear and distress and financial loss re- 

 sulted. A Swedish clergyman has given 

 some idea of the extent of this calamity, 

 when the herring had been absent less 

 than 25 years. Writing in 1831, he said: 



He who knew the coast of Bohuslan twenty- 

 five years ago and now sees it again will 

 scarcely be able to refrain from tears. Then 

 it presented an imposing appearance. From 

 the sea itself rose massive walls and pillars 

 supporting immense salting houses and oil re- 

 fineries. Farther inland rich warehouses and 

 busy workshops might be seen, as well as pala- 

 tial residences of the merchants and neat cot- 

 tages of the fishermen and workingmen. The 

 coast was crowded with a busy throng and the 

 sea studded with sails. Every night it looked 

 as if there were a grand illumination, many 

 thousand lights shining from the windows and 

 from the numerous lamps along the quays, and 

 being reflected in the waves. Everything was 

 life and bustle, and tons of gold exchanged 

 hands. Now nothing is seen but ruins, only 

 here and there a dilapidated fisherman's cot- 

 tage, awakening melancholy thoughts in the 

 visitor. Would that those glorious times for 

 which thousands are sighing might return. 



In 1877 the herring returned, and im- 

 mediately there sprang up a great fishery 

 which has continued to the present time. 

 The period of maximum production was 

 1890 to 1895, since which years there has 

 been a considerable decline, which will 

 doubtless terminate in another with- 

 drawal of the herring from this coast. 



It has been possible only in recent 

 years to offer a rational and adequate 

 explanation of the periodical abundance 

 of the herring on the Swedish shores, 

 although for centuries all kinds of theo- 

 ries have been advanced. As the result 

 of careful studies of the physical and bio- ' 

 logical conditions prevailing in the North 

 Sea and its tributaries, Scandinavian sci- 

 entists have reached the conclusion that 

 the cause of the wonderful fluctuations 

 in the herring is to be found in the pres- 

 ence or absence of coastal bank-water 

 coming in from the North Sea and giving 

 to the shore waters of Bohuslan certain 

 peculiarities. When, under the influence 

 of winds or currents, or both, this new 

 mass of water containing food and hav- 

 ing the proper density sweeps to the east- 



